Cherish
by Casy Dee
Summary: Abby and Connor bring their baby home for the first time, and Connor takes the 3am feeding.  This is in response to a baby!fic Valentine's Day challenge.  Fluffity fluff fluff!


**A/N: This is my response to a Valentines Day challenge at the ConbyKink LiveJournal Conmmunity. My recipient was Tay-21 (so much for surprise, eh?) and her prompts were the following:**

**1. -First night home with baby (Or baby's first night in the nursery) 2. -Connor handles the 3am feeding and nappy change 3. -Abby looks in on them 4. FLUFF FLUFF FLUFF! **

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Cherish

Abby had been something to behold. Amazing, incredible… he didn't have words. He'd cherish the precious memory of her holding their son for the first time for the rest of his days. In Connor's mind, she'd become elevated to something higher than goddess in that moment. The fact that between the two of them they had created life was enough to render him speechless. His heart had clenched hard, his throat felt thick… he'd been afraid if he'd said anything he'd spoil the perfect moment. When Abby had looked up at him with so much love in her crystalline blue eyes, the tears that had been threatening to overflow finally broke free and flowed freely. He'd never been so happy, so proud, so humbled, or felt so lucky in his entire life.

Abby had refused the offer of using the hospital nursery that first night; she wanted their son to stay in the room with them. Despite the fact that the nurses had assured her that she would have the rest of her life to wake up with him, Abby hadn't wanted him out of her sight. To be honest, neither had Connor. The amount of time he'd been away to get weighed and cleaned and checked had been almost too much for him to bear. He'd asked repeatedly for his son to be brought back, much to the indulgent amusement of the staff.

Abby had been afraid that she'd not make a good mother, but Connor had always known she'd be brilliant. He'd watched her with animals, and more than that he knew how tender her heart was on the inside. Abby possessed everything she needed to be a mum, and the first evening with their baby had proved it. Throughout the night, Abby had woken the instant their son stirred. She already had him changed and feeding before Connor could even blink the sleep from his eyes. He offered to get up with him, but Abby refused. Connor was not one of those fathers that wanted to stand back whilst mummy did everything. He really wanted to help. He hoped once they were home she'd be more willing to share him.

Connor made them a nice meal for them that evening, anxious to have _something _to do. It was strange, having a baby, _their _baby in their flat. Connor had taken picture after picture of their son sleeping… because aside from feeding, that is about all he did. Abby _did _relax somewhat once they were home again. She watched Connor carefully as he cradled Liam Nicholas in his arms and nudged the nipple of the bottle into his mouth to encourage him to feed. They'd named him after his father and what he'd often thought of as his second father and their dear friend. Afterwards, loath to put him down, he'd laid him across his chest. He told Abby to go on to bed, but she insisted on putting Liam down herself. She said she wanted Connor to go to bed with her. She'd never admit it, but since the time they'd been trapped in the Cretaceous, she never felt safe unless she was in his arms.

Connor lay next to Abby, her body tucked in next to his. He smiled as he held her, amazed that life had given him such a wonderful wife and son. "Abby? You still awake?" he asked.

"Yeah, now I am," Abby murmured.

"Sorry," he replied, "but I wanted to tell you that after midnight, I'll get up with Liam. You get some rest."

"It's fine, Connor. I don't mind-"

"He's m' son, Abby. I _want _to. I can handle this, Abby," Connor argued, a soft note of admonishment in his voice. He'd tried very hard not to be hurt at her insistence at doing everything for Liam, but he was.

Abby turned to face him in the semi-dark. His face was so serious… intent. She really hadn't given him much alone time with Liam. Okay, if she were honest, she'd given him none. She trusted Connor implicitly, but she knew he would take her refusal to mean the opposite.

"Okay."

Connor blessed her with one of his bright, thousand-watt grins, the dimple in his left cheek visible even in the semi-dark of their bedroom. "You just wake me when ya hear him if I don't, yeah?"

She brushed a kiss over his lips, "Yeah. I will."

Connor was asleep almost instantly after that, a smile on his lips and his heart nearly bursting with joy. All he'd ever wanted, he had. He was a lucky man.

He slept directly through the midnight feeding. It seemed as if Abby had interpreted his insistence at taking midnight and on as the feeding _after_ midnight. At three a.m., she gave him a gentle (for Abby) kick in the shins and told him he'd better get moving if he was to do the feeding and nappy change. Connor stumbled from the bed in his boxers and vest and made his way to the kitchen for the bottle, and then to the nursery.

He took his time with the diaper change, savoring the moment, willing it into memory, and then settled into the old rocking chair his mother had gifted to them and began the feed. He studied Liam's dark thatch of hair… he'd gotten that from him, it seemed, along with his jaw and chin. The shape of the eyes and the nose looked like Abby. He supposed he might be seeing more than what was there, but time would tell. Liam's eyes were still newborn blue. It could be a while yet until they knew the color, but the long thick eyelashes were all Abby. He counted fingers and toes, brushed his finger over his son's impossibly soft cheek.

He finished the feed and laid him over his shoulder, patting his back gently to bring up any wind. He thought about laying him down again, but as he looked down upon his son lying so calm and peaceful in his arms he was reluctant to. He just wanted to hold him for a little while.

Abby was stood in the doorway, looking in on them both. She supposed that the point of him getting up with Liam was to let her get some uninterrupted sleep, but she'd just wanted to make sure Connor was doing okay. Once she'd looked in on him, she couldn't make herself leave. She honestly didn't think her heart could be any more full of love than it already was, but it the sight of her husband and her son together was so beautiful and poignant that it was nearly painful. Her eyes welled up with tears as she watched Connor rocking their son; she almost felt as if she was intruding. She began to sneak off to bed when he began speaking again.

"I've been waiting for you, little man. Your mum and I love you already. She's a great mum, and I'll try hard to be a good dad. I'll teach you everything… and you can be whatever you want, can't ya?" Connor smiled at that and continued to rock, his thoughts turning inward. "I never thought I'd have a son. Abby said she'd not wanted kids. I'm glad she changed her mind. I'll bet you're more glad, eh?" Connor chuckled.

Abby bit her bottom lip at the words. She _had _told him it was out of the question, but Connor was nothing if not persistent. He never begged or tried to convince her, though. He'd just told her she'd be a great mum. She'd not missed the longing looks when he saw a family walk by them, or the gentle smile on his face when he saw a newborn baby. Connor had always adored kids; he got on with them naturally. He joked that it was because he was still a kid himself.

One day she'd been watching Becker and his daughter playing 'soldiers' together on the lawn outside the ARC, and she'd realized that she _wanted_ that for Connor… and for herself. The world was a safer place for them all now; she no longer had that excuse. The ARC was now primarily a research and development facility. It was easy enough to use the time map to predict anomalies and close them before they did any harm. Incursions were easily prevented, more often than not.

She'd been terrified to tell Connor about her change of heart… terrified and excited and nervous. She'd done it after one of their weekly pizza and film nights when they were relaxing together with a bottle of wine. She'd stumbled and stammered through her words so much that she'd had a sudden flash of empathy for Connor; this must be how he felt when he'd awkwardly (but very sweetly) proposed… for real. Connor had grown more alarmed by the second, cool, calm and collected Abby _never _stuttered or stammered. When she'd finally managed to get the words out, he'd cried and held her so tightly she thought she'd break.

She smiled fondly at the memory of them "trying" for a baby. They both had a more than healthy appetite for sex, and they'd joked that increasing the frequency more than usual might leave poor Abby unable to walk properly. It hadn't taken them long to conceive, but far from being put off by Abby's pregnant body, Connor said that she was sexier than ever. He'd kissed her belly every day, and sometimes she'd look up to see him watching her with the softest expression of happiness and love. She was afraid she'd be a terrible mother, it was not like she'd ever had an example to use for reference, but she knew for a fact that Connor would be an incredible father.

Connor smiled down at his son, "You know, I had to beg her to marry me. I thought I'd mucked it up… me mouth was runnin' before me brain caught up to it. Seems ya shouldn't plan the wedding before you ask her to marry ya," he chuckled, and then his face grew serious. "I love her so much. Always have done, but I never wanted her to be forced into anything, even though I wanted you so badly. I thought we'd never-" he swallowed hard, and Abby could see he was fighting back tears. Liam… you're the best thing she could have ever given me. I love you."

Abby's tears overflowed; she could no longer stand by and watch. She pushed open the door and knelt beside Connor, wrapped her arms around both of them and held them tightly. "I love you," she said. She didn't say it often enough, although Connor told her every day. "I love you more than anything, both of you."

Connor wrapped his free arm around her and hugged her close, "I know that, sweetheart. I do." He pressed a kiss to her hair and held his little family close to him, warmth and love surrounding them. He'd never known it could be like this, and he knew Abby felt the same. Together, through all the pain and suffering, joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, they had built something so strong that nothing would ever have the power to destroy it. The love they had was special, unique and eternal… a gift few people had the strength to seek or the fortitude to build. It had been work… storybook romance it was not, but it had all been worth it.

**END **

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A/N: I do hope you like my fluffily fluff fluff. Please be kind enough to leave a review if you liked it (or if you hated it.) No reviews makes the muse sad, and sad muses are not very inspiring. Just sayin'.


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